Contacts lead to contracts

95% of homebuyers who receive periodic contact from their agent say they'd use the same agent when it was time to sell or buy. Without regular contact, only 35.5% would use the same agent again.

Periodic postcard mailings are an effectivive and inexpensive way to keep in touch with your farm.
Browse our postcard assortment

Newsletters set you apart from other realtors. By sharing pertinent home and realty information you boost your profile as a real estate expert. Our professional personalization services ensure your contact information is always on hand.
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How many prospects will it take to yield a commission of $60,000 a year?

20 listings deliver an annual income of $60,000 if your average commission is $3,000.

If you close 1/2 of your listing presentations, you'll need 40 ready-to-sell prospects to get to 20 listings.

National averages say 7% of homeowners move every year, so you'll need 575 households for 40 listing presentation opportunities.

575 is a low number because it assumes that every homeowner who is going to sell in your farm area allows you the opportunity to deliver a listing presentation to them.

How much per prospect should you budget for marketing?

With 575 prospects, 40 to 55 cents per prospect. That's $259 - $316 per month or $3,108 - $3,792 per year on prospect marketing. That's not a bad investment to generate $60,000 in commissions.

Your clients are your future!

32% of your prospects come from referrals - YET 69% of your BUYERS come from referrals! Past clients will happily tell others what a great job you did, especially if you ask them - let them know you're excited and capable of handling more business.

What do top producers do to grow their income?

There's a simple correlation in the real estate business - the more agents spend on marketing, the more income they take home. This is no accident.

Marketing vs. Prospecting

Your success as a real estate professional is largely a function of the effectiveness of your marketing:

•Traditional prospecting requires you to contact prospects.

•Modern direct-response marketing results in customers calling you.

According to NAR, 93%of U.S. homeowners will not be involved in a real estate transaction this year. How do you pinpoint the other 7% in your area and acquire them as customers? By communicating consistently with area homeowners via value-added direct-response marketing. Effective marketing saves you time, money and the frustrations associated with cold-calling.

The better you market, the more money you will make, Period.

What makes farming successful?

Farming activity must reflect favorably on you. Pick the right activities. Think through your plan. Good implementation of a good plan leads to positive results. Always make sure your marketing and promotions are strongly identified with you.

How to avoid the "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" problem.

Year-round, ad specialties, such as calendar magnets, keep you in sight, right on the family refrigerator.
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The eight-niche-double-your-income plan.

Niche One: Past satisfied customers are the fastest way to jump-start your business. Turn satisfied clients into loyal clients. You can double your income by going back to those you served the previous year in a systematic fashion.
Browse our greeting cards - a great re-activation strategy

Niche Two: Weekly - not weekend - open houses are an excellent way to get immediate financial results since solid prospects are driving around every day of the week. If you are new in the business, volunteer to hold open houses for peak performers who have many listings to service. Bring your cell phone and make prospecting calls between visitors.

Niche Three: FSBOs are pre-qualified and they want to move. FSBOs and expired listings can become your bread and butter niche. Owners sell 17% - 20% of the homes in the United States each year and many others abandon the attempt due to unexpected complications, demands on their time or a lack of marketing savvy.
Browse our FSBO postcards - they can open the door to dialog

Niche Four: Your local business network helps you build business by exchanging leads in a self-formed board of advisors in your community. Consider a banker, a doctor, a dentist, a lawyer and several small business owners.

Niche Five: Focus on close center of personal influence - those people you regularly associate with. Most friends prefer to work with trusted friends; ask your friends to tell others about you!

Niche Six: Rekindle contacts from your past. Dig out that high school yearbook, past Christmas card lists, etc. You'll be surprised how many people come out from under a rock to generate a few leads for you.

Niche Seven: Dial for dollars when you have a few minutes to spare using a prepared weekly phone agenda. All the people above are fair game. Allow three minutes to get your message across. Consider:

Mondays: Past customers

Tuesdays: FSBOs

Wednesdays: House farm

Thursdays: Board of advisors

Niche Eight: The house farm - it takes courage and a strong sense of self-worth to go out into the trenches filled with passion and tell your real estate story. It's a slow process and takes the longest of the eight niches to pay off. Choose a house farm that's a good fit for you - two smaller territories (under 150 homes) or one larger one (300 homes). Use spontaneous dialogues and giveaways; keep it light and breezy and demonstrate your knowledge of the area. After all, affluent people made their money by working hard and taking risks. Many future clients will admire your work ethic and creativity.